Ann Kaiser’s Story

May 1, 2016

“As a mixed Asian child growing up in a white community, I never fit in. My family was not as affluent as the other families, and as much as I tried to fit in, I didn’t. I wasn’t blonde, blue-eyed, and stick thin. I had almost black hair, dark brown eyes and more muscular. I won’t ever forget the name calling. I never understood why, not being included, but I felt worse for my brother. While I would retreat and keep to myself, he would fight back. Then, the kids would call him more names. It just never stopped. To this day, I still remember how awful it felt not to be accepted because of how I looked. As a teacher now, I share my story, no matter how painful it still it is, because I hope that they see and understand that words do hurt.”